Shaky Saberhagen Calms L.A.

National League

Two World Series wins and two Cy Young awards were not enough to prepare Bret Saberhagen for his first pennant race in nearly 10 years.

Saberhagen overcame nerves and 13 hits to win his Colorado debut as the Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time in six games at Coors Field this season, 9-4 Thursday.

“I needed someone to pour water in my mouth before the game because I couldn’t hold the cup,” said Saberhagen, who was traded to Colorado from the last-place New York Mets on Monday. “It’s a lot easier to pitch when you’re in last place.”

Dante Bichette and Vinny Castilla made things a little easier for Saberhagen in the first inning with consecutive home runs and Larry Walker connected later as the Rockies stopped the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak.

Cubs 7, Pirates 2

Pittsburgh

Scott Servais, just off the disabled list, singled home the go-ahead run in a five-run ninth inning, handing Pittsburgh its 11th loss in 13 games.

Luis Gonzalez hit a solo homer in the eighth and drove in two runs to finish 5 for 8 with four extra base hits and five RBIs in the three-game series.

Cardinals 2, Astros 1

St. Louis

Allen Watson worked seven shutout innings, extending his streak to 13 without an earned run, as St. Louis ended a six-game losing streak. The Cards, 10-20 against the N.L. Central, avoided being swept for the fifth time this year. The Astros are 7-3 against St. Louis, including a three-game sweep June 26-28 in Houston.

Braves 5, Phillies 4

Atlanta

Mark Lemke and Javier Lopez hit run-scoring singles in the ninth inning, boosting Atlanta’s N.L. East lead over the Phillies to a season-high nine games.

The victory was Atlanta’s 18th in its last at-bat this season and 11th since July 4.

Reds 3, Mets 2

Cincinnati

Ron Gant scored the go-ahead run when he tried to steal home and drew an interference call that gave Cincinnati a win. The Reds completed its first three-game sweep of the Mets at Riverfront Stadium since August 1982. New York has lost nine of 12 while tumbling into last place in the N.L. East.

Padres 3, Giants 0

San Diego

Willie Blair, making his first start in more than a year, limited San Francisco to three hits in six innings.

Steve Finley went 3 for 3 and the Padres won two of three from the Giants. Tony Gwynn had two hits, but left the game after fouling a ball off his right toe in the seventh.

Clearing the bases

The Rockies have hit more home runs (129) in their first 91 games than they hit in the 117-game 1994 season (125)… . Dante Bichette’s average has gone down 10 points since he began his 24-game hitting streak… . On this date five years ago, the Braves traded Dale Murphy and Tommy Greene to the Phillies for pitcher Jeff Parrett, outfielder Jim Vatcher and infielder Victor Rosario . . . . A Magnetic Resonance Imaging test on Mets pitcher Pete Harnisch found torn cartilage in his shoulder. He will miss at least one start.